


A Suitable Pet

by Marian_De_Haan



Category: Blake's 7
Genre: Explanation of Avon's Brown Frock, Gen, Mention of Anna Grant, Mystery, Post-Episode: s01e03 Cygnus Alpha, Season/Series 01
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-18
Updated: 2019-08-18
Packaged: 2020-09-06 10:43:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,303
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20290156
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marian_De_Haan/pseuds/Marian_De_Haan
Summary: "It's a beauty," Jenna said."Cute," offered Gan.Vila held out his hand. "Give us a paw.""It could be our mascot?" Blake mused aloud."Where does it come from?" Avon insisted, refusing to be enchanted by a purring heap of fur.





	A Suitable Pet

**Author's Note:**

> Published in The Avon Club Newsletter #74 on May 2000.  
Reproduced here on the author's behalf and with the author's permission.

"Welcome aboard the Liberator," Blake said to Vila and Gan.  
  
While handing out drinks, he was acutely aware of the tension between his two other crew members. They were all sitting in the recreation area of the Liberator flight deck, the smouldering Jenna and brooding Avon as far away from each other as possible. Clearly, Blake thought, something had happened between them while he'd been away to pick up their new recruits from Cygnus Alpha. His heart sank. It was going to take all his strength forging them into a team.  
  
On the central bench Gan stretched his long legs. Something resembling a twig, which had been clinging to his trousers, now fell off. Without a sound it landed on the floor and rolled out of sight. Nobody had seen it happen.  
  
Reluctantly joining in the toast - and angrily reflecting how Blake was playing the host as if he OWNED the Liberator - Avon felt something pushing against his leg. Looking down in irritation, he nearly dropped his glass. An elegant, white, long-haired cat was stroking its body ingratiatingly along his leg.  
Sensing it had gained his attention, its head came up. Enticing, very round blue eyes gazed meltingly into his.  
  
"Who," Avon enquired icily, "brought that cat aboard?"  
  
Uttering squeaks of surprise and delight, the others gathered round the animal.  
  
"It's a beauty," Jenna said.  
  
"Cute," offered Gan.  
  
Vila held out his hand. "Give us a paw."  
  
"It could be our mascot?" Blake mused aloud.  
  
"Where does it come from?" Avon insisted, refusing to be enchanted by a purring heap of fur.  
  
"Who cares?" Vila said.  
  
"I do." Avon looked from him to Gan. "One of you must've brought it."  
  
"I didn't," stated Gan.  
  
"Don't look at me," wailed Vila.  
  
Gan added: "Maybe it was already aboard."  
  
"Impossible," Avon scorned. "We'd have found it."  
  
"Then it must've come with that scruffy priest," volunteered Vila.  
  
"In that case we'd have seen it teleport in."  
  
"We didn't even see the priest teleport in," Jenna observed.  
  
"It COULD belong here," Blake ventured. "Suppose it's the ship's cat. It could've been hiding since the owners abandoned ship."  
  
"We searched the ship. We'd have found it," Avon persisted. "Moreover, we should'd found signs of its existence." Scratching the pussy's back, he brought up a handful of loose white hair. "If that cat's been living aboard, the ship should be riddled with THIS. Yet we haven't found a single hair." He let go of the offending material. Fastidiously rubbing his hands, he added pointedly: "Not one!"  
  
"We weren't looking for them," Jenna pointed out.  
  
Ignoring the interruption, Avon continued: "We didn't find any droppings, too. And where does it go for food and water? Besides, cats come from earth; this is an alien ship."  
  
"Aliens love cats," Jenna said. "They're willing to pay gold for them."  
  
"I thought the Terran Law forbids the trading in cats," Gan remarked.  
  
"It does," Jenna confirmed. "That's why there's such a large profit in the trade."  
  
"Well, you should know," Vila said, referring to Jenna's past as a smuggler.  
  
Avon gave the animal, which had resumed its stroking of his leg, a firm push. "So, we can sell it for a good price."  
  
The others protested.  
  
"It seems a suitable pet," Vila observed.  
  
Realising a pet might be just the thing to bind his miscellaneous crew, Blake said decisively: "Well, let it stay and see how it behaves." Turning to Avon, he added practically: "We can use some of that stuff from the recycling plant for its litter box."  
  
"As you wish," Avon conceded, seeing himself outvoted. "But don't expect me to clean it!"  
  
"I'll do that," Gan volunteered while Avon, head held high, walked off to his cabin. The cat strolled after him.

* * *

"It's not fair!" Vila complained. "We feed it, we clean it, we pamper it. And all it does in return is ignore us."  
  
"Maybe it doesn't want to be pampered," Avon said, casting a cold glance at the heap of white fur at his feet.  
  
With the perversity of the feline the cat had attached itself firmly to the one member of Liberator's crew who did not fall for its charms. They were on the flight deck, all except Blake who had gone to his cabin for a rest in preparation for the evening watch.  
  
Jenna walked over to the cat. Picking it up, she raised its tail. "It's a female," she announced. "We should find a name for her."  
  
"How about: Nuisance?" Avon suggested provocatively.  
  
Refusing the bait, Jenna said: "Gem."  
  
Gan smiled. "I like that."  
  
"Yes," Vila agreed. "She is a jewel, isn't she?"  
  
"Makes you want to steal her, I suppose?" Avon asked him nastily.  
  
"She'd be better off with me than with you," Vila bit back. "I can't imagine what she sees in you."  
  
Neither could Avon. For two full days now that cat had been following him purposefully. When he took a bath it settled on the side of the tub and at night it slept on the foot of his bed. The only reason he was prepared to bear its pestering was that it allowed him to keep an eye on it. He did not trust cuddly cats who appeared out of thin air.  
  
"Gan," he asked, raising his eyes from the flight console he'd been studying. "Has it used its litter box yet?"  
  
"No." The giant looked concerned. "And it hasn't yet eaten or drunk anything either, I think."  
  
"Cats are hardy," Vila remarked, lounging on the bench in the recreation area.  
  
Seated at the pilot's position, Jenna observed. "It probably has a secret den. A place where it has access to water and can dispose of its litter."  
  
Avon rose. "Cats are renowned for keeping their dens clean."  
  
"Then it must have a separate place for disposals," Jenna said patiently.  
  
"Where are you going?" Vila asked Avon.  
  
"Getting some sleep. I'm on night duty."  
  
Outside the Liberator there was, of course, eternal night. But like all sensible space travellers they kept to the Earth routine.

* * *

Avon gratefully entered the isolation of his cabin. Although he was able to adapt to company, he preferred to be alone. His worst time had been those four months aboard the London cooped up with the other criminals without a single moment of privacy.  
  
As he lay down on his bed the cat followed and settled at his feet. Very soon its purring got more slow as it fell asleep. Soon after that, Avon was asleep too. He became aware of a presence in his arms. Warm lips were touching his cheek. Her perfume was rousing his senses...  
  
Avon woke with a start. Anna was dead. It was a dream, a hallucination, an illusion... He wanted to rise but something was preventing him. Surprisingly large and heavy, the cat lay stretched out over his stomach and breast, one paw reaching out to his face. Avon pushed it savagely aside. With a squeak of protest it landed on the floor, squarely on its four paws. Avon switched on the light and rose. Ignoring the reproachfully staring blue eyes, he scooped up the cat with one hand while pushing the door button with the other. When the cabin door had slid open, he threw the beast violently into the corridor.  
  
Vila and Gan were just entering the corridor with Jenna. Startled they saw the cat touch down in front of them while Avon's cabin door slid shut. "How could he?" Vila cried indignantly.  
  
Gan held out his hand to the animal. "She doesn't seem to be harmed."  
  
Its tail held high, the cat walked off with demonstrative dignity.  
  
Jenna smiled. "I think we've witnessed the end of doomed courtship."

* * *

Avon had set the alarm to go off at half an hour before he was due on watch. That should give him time to pay a visit to Liberator's clothes store. It took him some time to find something suitable in his size. With garments in various shades of brown he hurried back to his cabin. There he quickly exchanged his drab prison clothes for the selected high collared sweater and tight trousers. The tunic which completed the new outfit had to serve another purpose before he put it on.  
  
Reaching under his bed, Avon took one of the two Federation handguns, which he had fastened to the underside, from its clamps. Blake had taken Avon's and Jenna's gun to put them in storage with his own, but he had seemingly forgotten about the ones of the London's men who had been sent out to investigate the Liberator. Avon had managed to secure them without the others noticing. One he had already safely stowed away inside the teleport console. The second could stay under the bed. The last he was going to hide inside the console of his position on the flight deck. Federation handguns were not designed with an eye on concealment. Avon took the bulky weapon in his left hand, then carefully draped the tunic over it. Satisfied the gun did not show, he set off to the flight deck.

* * *

Blake sat at the main pilot's position with the cat balancing on his shoulders. "It seems to have changed allegiance," he remarked.  
  
"You're welcome to it." Avon walked to his own position.  
  
"All going smoothly, I gather?"  
  
"According to Zen, yes." Halting at his place, Avon folded his free arm over the other. "You can rely on Zen. That computer is much more suited for flying this craft than we'll ever be."  
  
"I'll lake your word for that." Blake rose somewhat reluctantly. He never liked ceding command. The cat balanced itself more firmly on his shoulders. "A real hanger on," Blake joked,  
  
"The clinging kind," Avon affirmed drily. "Its a she, by the way. There seems to be a consensus about naming her Gem."  
  
Careful not to disturb the cat, Blake moved to the corridor. "Appropriate."  
  
"Very." In his relief about seeing him depart, Avon smiled with real warmth. "Good night."

* * *

In his cabin Blake bent forward to let the cat jump onto the bed. When she had done that, he lay down himself. Purring, Gem positioned herself on his stomach. Idly stroking the soft fur, Blake thought about the change in his fortunes. From convicted criminal, sentenced to spend the remainder of his life on a penal planet, to free man with the most advanced spacecraft in the galaxy. Now he could start fighting the Federation.  
  
It was a bit disappointing that his mission to expand his crew had only yielded two recruits. But maybe the idea of going after criminals had not been such a good one. Dedicated freedom fighters was what he needed. Instead he was stuck with a smuggler, an embezzler, a murderer, and a thief.  
  
Granted, Jenna was a first class pilot and Avon a computer genius. The giant Gan had the strength of three normal men and as a thief Vila was in a class of his own. All useful persons when you're embarking on a revolution. The only drawback was that none of them seemed keen on fighting the Federation.  
  
Well, they would have to do it anyway. It seemed likely that Jenna could be charmed, Gan talked, and Vila bullied into co-operation. That left Avon. Clever, arrogant, cynic, self-sufficient Avon. He would always be undermining Blake's authority. Avon had to go. Softly caressing the cat's head, Blake wondered why he'd not seen this so clearly before. In order to succeed, he had to get rid of Avon.

* * *

Avon did not resent doing night watch. In fact, he had volunteered for it. Having the flight deck to himself for hours on end was a treat. After concealing the gun according to his plan, he spent the rest of his watch on studying the electronics of the Liberator systems. He was still happily busy on that when Jenna, Gan and Vila came striding in.  
  
"Where's Gem?" Jenna asked aggressively.  
  
In a tone which made clear his annoyance about being addressed like that, Avon replied curtly: "With Blake, probably."  
  
"She isn't," Vila stated.  
  
"He asked us to look for her."  
  
"We searched everywhere," Gan added.  
  
Avon shrugged. "Then she's probably gone back to her secret den."  
  
"Or you dropped her out of an airlock," Vila said bluntly.  
  
Avon laid down his tools. "That is a stupid supposition even for you!"  
  
"You've been against her from the beginning," Jenna said accusingly.  
  
"I said we should SELL it, not kill it," Avon snapped.  
  
"It's not what you said, but what you DID," Gan riposted.  
  
"First you kick her," Vila stated. "And then you kill her."  
  
"You've all gone mad!" Avon felt his anger rising. "The last time I saw that cat it was on Blake's shoulder. Go and harass him!"  
  
"That won't work, Avon!" came Blake's voice aggressively from the doorway. He entered with measured steps. "You're not fit to be part of my crew!"  
  
Avon cast him a murderous glance. "I am not part of YOUR crew. We boarded this ship together. That gives me as much right to it as you!"  
  
Blake halted about ten feet away from him. "I will put you down on the first planet we encounter."  
  
"Will you indeed?" Avon's voice was icily threatening.  
  
"Yes," Jenna said. "We don't need you here!"  
  
Carefully keeping his temper, Avon moved to his position. "You are forgetting this ship is of a highly advanced technology. If something breaks down, do you really think any of YOU will be able to repair it?"  
  
"You aren't the only technical expert in the galaxy," Blake argued. "I can find another, someone who isn't a crook!"  
  
"We are ALL convicted criminals," Avon reminded him with cold fury. "The difference is that I was exiled for fraud, not for child molesting like you!"  
  
Jenna immediately jumped to Blake's defense: "That accusation was utterly false!"  
  
"Of course." Avon produced his nastiest smile. "Blake wouldn't know how to begin molesting a child!"  
  
"Enough!" Blake roared. "On my ship there's no place for a cat killer, Avon! We'll keep you locked up until we can dump you. Gan, bring him to his cabin!"  
  
The giant was strong but slow. As he began to advance, Avon knew he had about ten seconds. It was enough. In one movement he kicked open the panel of his console, took out the gun and aimed it carefully at Blake. With cold determination he pulled the trigger three times, Blake stumbled forward two paces and stopped. His followers looked on in horror as he slowly sank to his knees, then fell face down at Avon's feet.

* * *

As in trance they gazed down at their fallen leader.  
  
"You've killed him!" Vila wailed.  
  
Not taking her eyes off the body, Jenna hissed: "You'll pay for this, Kerr Avon!"  
  
Gan, who had been stopped by events, now began to advance again. Avon pointed his gun at him. "Don't do anything stupid!"  
  
Halting, Gan threatened: "You won't get away with this!"  
  
"Look!" Jenna exclaimed. "Look at Blake!" The body seemed to grow smaller. Cloth and tissue alike were dwindling, changing shape and colour until all that was left was a brown twig. "What is it?" Jenna asked.  
  
Avon lowered his gun. "Presumably the original life form of our charming cat."  
  
"You mean it wasn't Blake?" Vila queried in utter astonishment. With dawning admiration, he added: "You KNEW it wasn't Blake."  
  
"Did you?" Jenna asked distrustfully.  
  
Avon, who had not been sure at all, gave her his most convincing stare. "Of course. And so should you have done. His behaviour was totally out of character."  
  
"That's true," Gan conceded.  
  
"He said you must have killed Gem," Vila added.  
  
Avon gave him a condescending smile. "Condemning a man without evidence or the right to defend himself - that's not Blake's style, wouldn't you agree?"  
  
Shamefaced about having allowed herself to be deceived so easily, Jenna said angrily: "I should have realised."  
  
And I, Avon reflected, should have been alarmed when that beast started courting Blake! But he'd been too preoccupied with keeping the gun from sight.  
  
"Where IS Blake?" Gan asked.  
  
"Here." Rubbing his head, Liberator's self-appointed commander tottered onto the flight deck. Gan and Jenna hurried to support him. "It took my shape," Blake said while being helped down onto a bench. "Before I could react it hit me on the head."  
  
"But how can it change?" Vila asked.  
  
"Cellular expansion," Avon replied.  
  
"What?" Vila looked blank.  
  
Avon touched the twig with his gun. "Apparently this thing can blow up its cells to a hundred times their size, and take on any shape and colour in the process."  
  
"Is it dead?" Jenna queried.  
  
"Difficult to say, isn't it?" Vila had a knack for stating the obvious.  
  
"Probably just stunned," Avon said. "Those bolts must have done some damage. I don't think it'll be able to take on any shape just now."  
  
"What did it want?" Gan wondered.  
  
"To take over the ship of course." Avon smiled cynically. "Domination, that's what life is about." He grinned malevolently at Blake. "Apparently it sensed that I was the strongest personality aboard. Therefore it attached itself to me."  
  
"Why?" Vila wanted to know.  
  
"To charm him into letting his mental defences down," Blake explained, "in order to control his mind."  
  
"Obviously it needed to form some kind of bond," Avon guessed. "It must have sensed a cuddly cat was just the thing to touch the human heart."  
  
"But with yours it hit solid stone." Vila could be nasty, too.  
  
Avon gave him a superior smile. "Exactly. It took the thing some time, though, to realise I was not responding."  
  
"Why did you throw it out?" Jenna asked suspiciously.  
  
No need to tell them about the thing taking on the shape of Anna. While he slept it must somehow have been able to probe his mind and reach the place where he'd hidden her memory. When he woke it had quickly changed back into the shape of the cat, but for a moment Avon had felt its increased bulk and weight. Blandly, he responded: "I was getting fed up with it following me."  
  
Blake frowned. Despite his throbbing head he knew there was more to it. He also knew trying to get the truth out of Avon would be a waste of time. Smiling ruefully. he observed: "So it decided to have a go at me." No need to tell them how nearly it had succeeded. On waking up this morning, still half asleep, Blake had suddenly come to his senses, realising Avon was the one person he could not afford to lose. Getting him to co-operate would be difficult, trying to get rid of him would be stupid. "When it saw it was failing with me too, it resorted to violence." Blake rubbed his eyes. Being attacked by his image had been an unsettling experience.  
  
Seeing the watch on Blake's left wrist Avon suddenly realised what his subconscious had noted to be wrong with the imitation. It had been a mirror image, with the watch on the wrong wrist.  
  
Vila, frowning deeply while trying to work it all out, asked: "Why did it want to dump you, Avon?"  
  
The expert gave him a disdaining stare. "Isn't that obvious? It couldn't control me, so it had to get rid of me." Still carrying his gun Avon walked over to his tool kit and selected a pair of large tweezers. Using the instrument to pick up the twig, he said: "We'd better get rid of this."  
  
Vila eyed the object warily. "What are you going to do with it?"  
  
"Drop it into the incinerator." Avon looked challengingly at Blake. "Objections?"  
  
"None."  
  
For once they could be in total agreement. A moment to behold, Blake reflected. He foresaw it was not something which would be occurring often.


End file.
